Uniting the Built & Natural Environments

‘Connect the Parks’ on the Jersey City Waterfront

The Jersey City Waterfront Parks Conservancy released a conceptual master plan for public review earlier this month. Landscape architecture firm Starr Whitehouse and nArchitects created a master plan designed for the “protection of waterfront parkland and dramatic Manhattan views via passive lawns, kid’s play elements, interaction with water and nature, combined with natural erosion protection and promotion of aquatic life.”

The master plan is the result of considerable community input gathered through surveys and meetings with local residents. The master plan seeks to link disparate parkland surrounding the Little Morris Canal Basin, and ‘connect the parks,’ while promoting wildlife habitat. The new waterfront will feature a man-made vegatative island designed to bring aquatic life. According to the Jersey City Waterfront Conservancy, “currently, the separate parcels of parkland are in a state of disrepair, eroding at a rapid pace or, in some cases, not available to the public. The plan also includes gardens, a slide mound, swings, water features and a dog run. To promote nature and our children’s interaction with the natural world, a floating aquatic vegetative island promoting aquatic life, a wet meadow and several points of access to the waters edge are also featured in the plan. In place of the corrugated steel bulkheading used to the north and south of the park, this Conceptual Master Plan incorporates a cost effective, visually appealing and less obtrusive means of erosion control, via a natural protection system.”

The master plan project, sponsored by the Waterfront Parks Conservancy, received significant financial support from the local community and corporations. Matt Johnson, Board President, said: “this is a great plan for Jersey City as it provides a destination which will increase property values, provide traffic for local businesses and ultimately increase tax revenues. And even better than that, it’s good for the environment.”